Compassion Is as Compassion Does
By Jon Walker
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Luke 10:25 (NIV)
If Jesus appeared on CNN tonight and was asked what it would take to inherit eternal life, the sound bite would be: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:27 NIV).
A lawyer once asked Jesus to clarify his answer. He asked, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29).
Jesus, a gentle teacher with a gentle yoke, did not answer directly (or even crack any lawyer jokes). Instead, he told a story about a man beaten and left for dead on the road to Jericho.
First, a priest walked by, and seeing the injured man, he quietly crossed to the other side of the road.
Then, an assistant at the Temple, one in charge of purity and tithing walked by, but seeing the injured man, he, too, crossed to the other side of the road.
Finally, a man from a despised race, a Samaritan, walked by and stopped. He treated the man’s injuries and took him to a nearby inn, paying for the injured man’s care and lodging until he could get back on his feet.
Who, Jesus asked, was the injured man’s neighbor?
The lawyer responded, “The one who showed him mercy.”
“That’s right,” Jesus said, “Now go and do the same” (Luke 10:37, based on NLT).
Compassion is as compassion does.
Jon Walker is the author of Costly Grace: A Contemporary View of Bonhoeffer’s ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ and Growing with Purpose. He has served on staff at Saddleback Church and Purpose Driven Ministries and is currently the managing editor of Rick Warren’s Daily Devotionals and the Ministry Toolbox. Contact him at questions@gracecreates.com.
This article is copyrighted 2011 by Jon Walker.